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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “distraction”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “distraction”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 7 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Disable WP Notification shows at wp.org #8 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #1 2 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #17 ↑1 10 too low 8 WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #11 ↑6 2 too low 10 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too high 15 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 NS Remove Related Products for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Add to Cart Redirect for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Feeds for TikTok (TikTok feed, video, and gallery plugin) 70K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Sensei LMS – Online Courses, Quizzes, & Learning 9K+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21 Classic Visual Editor Options 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Emoji Toolbar 2K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #23 24 WP Distraction Free View 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.